Hyundai Card CEO loses to siblings in lawsuit over funeral guest book

Hyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Tae-young / Courtesy of Hyundai Card

By Yoon Ja-young

Hyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Tae-young lost in a lawsuit filed by his siblings, which was triggered over his refusal to fully disclose the names of guests at the funerals of their parents.

Chung Kyung-jin, their father who founded the country's oldest cram school, Jongro Academy, in 1965, passed away in November 2020. Their mother passed away in February 2019.

According to media reports, Seoul Western District Court ruled on April 1 in favor of Chung's two siblings, in a lawsuit in which the two demanded that Chung hand over the guest books from their deceased parents' funerals.

After the funeral, Chung's two siblings demanded he show them the funeral guest books, saying that they should thank the guests who came to pay their respects. However, Chung only handed over a list of guests he determined were relevant to his siblings.

The siblings asked him twice ― in December 2020 and January 2021 ― to see copies of the funeral guest books, but Chung refused. The siblings then filed a lawsuit in February 2021.

Lawyers of the Hyundai Card CEO insisted that the list of the guests does not have to be shared. They added that when the funeral guests leave their personal information, their intention is to allow only the "sangju," or chief mourner, who is usually the first son of the deceased in Korea, to collect and use the information.

The court, however, did not agree and ruled that the list should be available for all children of the deceased considering Korea's funerary customs and manners as well as the meaning of the guest book. It added that the person keeping the guest book has the customary obligation to allow their siblings to see it or get a copy.

The CEO has been mired in another legal feud with his siblings. He filed a lawsuit against them in September 2020 demanding 200 million won ($165,000) from 1 billion won that his siblings inherited from their mother. A verdict has yet to be reached on that case.

Since Chung was paid 10.9 billion won last year from Hyundai Group's financial businesses, the highest salary in the industry, it is presumed he did not file the lawsuit simply for the money but to voice his resentment against his siblings.

Chung is the son-in-law of Hyundai Motor Group Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo.

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